Vasilevskiy, Varlamov, Khudobin lead big postseason for Russian goalies

Russian goalies have made a statement during the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

This postseason features three goalies who have played internationally for Russia in the conference finals for the first time in the NHL.
Semyon Varlamov is starting for the New York Islanders, facing Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference Final, which Tampa Bay leads 2-1.
Anton Khudobin is the starter for the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights and won 3-2 in overtime in Game 3 on Thursday to take a lead in the series.

Evgeni Nabokov, who was born in Kazakhstan but played for Russia internationally, knows a bit about making hockey history. He was the goalie for the San Jose Sharks when they reached the Western Conference Final in 2004, the only other postseason to have multiple Russian goalies starting among the final four teams. In the East, the starter for the Lightning was Nikolai Khabibulin, who became the first Russian goalie to win the Stanley Cup when Tampa Bay defeated the Calgary Flames in the Final.
Ilya Bryzgalov was the second Russian goalie to win the Cup, in 2007 when he was the backup to Jean-Sebastien Giguere when the Anaheim Ducks defeated the Ottawa Senators.
Nabokov is heartened by what has happened this postseason, which has seen a playoff-record five Russian goalies play at least one game.
Sergei Bobrovsky started every game for the Florida Panthers, who were eliminated in four games by the Islanders in the Cup Qualifiers. Igor Shesterkin was expected to be the starter for New York Rangers in their Cup Qualifier series against the Carolina Hurricanes but sustained an injury during training camp. He started Game 3, a loss that ended the Rangers' season.
"I've actually been watching tons of hockey and I'm amazed how great the [Russian goalies] are, said Nabokov, who played 10 of his 14 NHL seasons for the Sharks and is their goaltending coach. "With [Vasilevskiy] and Khudobin and [Varlamov] and Bobrovsky -- I call them the four elephants -- the goalies are absolutely looking fantastic."
The odds are favorable for another Russian goalie to win the Cup this season.
"It will be huge if a Russian goalie wins the Cup and chances are good right now,"said Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev, who played 34 regular-season games. Georgiev was born in Bulgaria but moved to Russia as a child and holds dual citizenship. "Although Vegas looks dangerous."

Vegas, with Sweden-born starter Robin Lehner and Canada-born backup Marc-Andre Fleury, is the only team in the conference finals to not have a Russian goaltender.
A Cup win by Khudobin, Varlamov or Vasilevskiy would be the most visible evidence of the expanding presence of Russian goalies in the NHL during the past decade.
Bobrovsky was the first Russian to win the Vezina Trophy, awarded to goalie voted best in the NHL, in 2013, and he won it again in 2017. Vasilevskiy became the second Russian goalie to win the Vezina last season and is a finalist for the award this season.
Vasilevskiy owns another notable distinction. When he was selected by the Lightning at No. 19 in the 2012 NHL Draft, it was the first time a Russian was the first goalie selected in a draft. Two other Russian goalies have been drafted in the first round, each by the Washington Capitals: Varlamov at No. 23 in 2006 and Ilya Samsonov at No. 22 in 2015.
Iaroslav Askarov, No. 1 in NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of International goalies for the 2020 NHL Draft, could become the highest-drafted Russian goalie, potentially in the top 15.

The impact of Russian goalies has risen significantly since Varlamov made his NHL debut in 2008-09. Prior to that season, no more than three Russian goalies had played in a single NHL season. A record seven Russian goalies played in 2014-15, a number that was matched this season. The seven this season combined for 232 starts and 136 wins, each a single-season NHL record for Russian goalies.
Those numbers could grow next season with an expected increase in starts for Shesterkin, who made his NHL debut Jan. 7 and was 10-2-0 with a .932 save percentage in 12 games, and the arrival of Islanders prospect
Ilya Sorokin
from the Kontinental Hockey League after agreeing to terms on a one-year, entry-level contract and a one-year contract extension for the 2020-21 season on July 14.
"You can see lately a lot of good goalies coming from Russia to play in the NHL," Varlamov said July 14. "It just says we have more good goalie coaches and more guys who are actually working with the goalies back home, and they understand better the training and all this process. It just shows our goalie schools in Russia got a lot better, in the last decade especially."
Nabokov perhaps is the best example of the increased level of coaching.
Khudobin, who is 10-6-0 with a .917 save percentage in 17 postseason games (16 starts), didn't have a goalie coach until he was a teenager. He worked with Nabokov around that time after Khudobin moved to Russia from Kazakhstan at 13. Khudobin has paid that help forward, returning to Russia each offseason to help young goalies.
"It was more just advice," Nabokov said. "I showed them a couple drills, but it wasn't a well-organized machine like it is now. They just have a way, way better program there right now. You have goalie coaches and tons of goalie camps, which when I grew up, it was never like that. We never really had camps, and I think that's the reason why we see a lot of good goalies coming out of Russia and they have a chance in the NHL."
This year, it includes the chance to win another Cup, which would be a fitting end to a historic season for Russian goalies.